How long can I wait to get a 2nd dose of COVID vaccine in MS and how do I schedule it?
With first-dose appointments for the COVID-19 snapped up almost as soon as they are available, some residents are concerned about being able to schedule second doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
Mississippi State Health Department officials have assured residents that second doses are arriving in adequate numbers for timely vaccination of those who have received first doses.
A second dose of the Moderna vaccine should be administered no earlier than 28 days after the first dose, while the Pfizer vaccine requires a wait of at least 21 days. Second doses administered four days before the minimum time frame are still considered valid, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Residents should receive a second dose within the recommended window, but it can be scheduled up to six weeks, or 42 days, after the first dose, the CDC website says. Data is limited on how effective a second dose would be if administered past six weeks.
The vaccine brands are not interchangeable, the CDC says: “The safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product.”
Ideally, residents should make an appointment at the same location for a second dose so that they get the same brand vaccine, the MSDH says. So far, vaccine eligibility applies to health care workers, paramedics and emergency medical technicians, residents 65 and older, and residents 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions.
That makes 1.3 million to 1.4 million Mississippians — almost half the population — eligible to receive a vaccine, the MSDH estimates.
The vast majority of vaccinations for the general public — currently about 30,000 total a week — are being administered at MSDH drive-thru clinics that are, by all reports, running efficiently. Appointments can be scheduled online at covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453.
CVS and Walgreens are working under a federal partnership to vaccinate residents in longterm care facilities.
MSDH recommends that residents wait two weeks to schedule an appointment for a second dose at its drive-thru clinics. If scheduling online and appointments are booked, check back frequently for available times at the appropriate location. The questions asked when scheduling include the brand of vaccine received.
When vaccinated, residents receive a vaccination record on a card that lists the date and brand of the first dose. Residents should hold onto this card and take it with them to their second appointment, whether they received their vaccination through MSDH, at a hospital or through Coastal Family Health Clinic.
Second doses for residents who received vaccinations through a hospital will be scheduled by that hospital. South Mississippi hospitals are not currently receiving or booking first doses, but are scheduling second-dose appointments for those who received their first shots at the hospitals.
- Singing River Health System, Ochsner Medical Center Hancock County and Coastal Family scheduled second doses when patients got their first shot.
- Memorial Hospital is following up with first-dose patients to schedule second doses.
- George Regional Hospital is scheduling second doses online, according to its website.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 12:00 AM.
